San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum wobbly in 7-0 loss to Red Sox

SAN FRANCISCO -- Some things proved easy to sort out, even after a bizarre Monday night at AT&T Park. Tim Lincecum's awkward stumble off the mound resulting in a run-scoring balk required only three words.

"My foot slipped," the pitcher revealed.

But explaining why these things keep happening during the Giants' season of misfortune and shoddy play is getting more difficult. The Boston Red Sox beat them 7-0 as the defending champs continued to look at times like an expansion franchise.

Beyond Lincecum's costly misstep, the Giants also allowed a runner to reach first base on catcher's interference, another to score on a wild pitch, and they managed only six hits (all singles) against Red Sox starter Jon Lester. They went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

"We didn't throw a lot of good at-bats out there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Sometimes that pitcher out there can make you look flat."

By pitching 8﻿1/3 scoreless innings, Lester has now allowed only one earned run in two career starts at AT&T Park. His other start was a complete-game victory, also over Lincecum, in 2010.

On this night, Lincecum surrendered five earned runs in five-plus innings and looked nothing like the pitcher who has looked sporadically dominant in the second half. He has won only one of his six starts since his July 13 no-hitter, although he has pitched well in some of those games.

"He didn't have his good stuff tonight," Bochy said. "He was battling. He just left some pitches up, and he was hurt by those."

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Lincecum said mechanically he felt fine but that for some reason he wasn't getting much movement on his pitches, especially his changeup and curveball. At 6-13, the two-time Cy Young Award winner is now tied for the most losses in the league.

The lowlight came in an oddball second inning when the right-hander stumbled while trying to deliver a pitch with Red Sox runners at first and third.

Because Lincecum held onto the ball as he lost his footing, the nonpitch was ruled a balk. Daniel Nava trotted home with a run to make it 2-0, while Stephen Drew advanced to second.

One out later Jacoby Ellsbury was awarded first base on catcher's interference. Ellsbury's bat made contact with Buster Posey's glove while fouling off a full-count pitch, meriting the automatic trip to first base.

That prolonged the inning long enough for Shane Victorino to drive home Drew with a single and a 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox added another run in the fifth inning when Drew's double drove home Nava. They made it 5-0 with more help from the Giants: Ellsbury came home on Guillermo Moscoso's wild pitch in the sixth.

The Giants fell to 4-11 in interleague play for a .267 winning percentage that ranks second worst in the majors. In all games since May 14, the Giants have gone 32-54 for the lowest winning percentage in the National League.

About the only impact the Giants can have on the pennant races is in the role of spoiler, which is not a concept Bochy embraces.

"I'll acknowledge it, but it's not something I relish or cherish," he said. "If you talk about having a chance to be a spoiler, that means you're not very good."

The Giants had Will Clark at the controls of the team's official Twitter feed all night answering questions from fans. Some highlights:

Favorite player to hit behind? Brett Butler.

Favorite souvenir from playing days? The bat from his first career home run, off Nolan Ryan. ("1 swing and it got retired".)

Player he learned the most from? "(Mike) Krukow, but he embellishes all stories now"

In a nod to the Red Sox's visit, the Giants saluted the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings during a pregame ceremony. Two local survivors, Aaron Hern of Martinez and Amanda North of Woodside, threw out the first pitch.

Second baseman Marco Scutaro was in the Giants lineup despite battling injuries over the weekend. Scutaro left the game early Friday with neck stiffness and was removed Saturday with tightness in his lower back.